-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The number of journalists jailed around the world reached a record high in 2012 , with Turkey the worst offender , the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report published Tuesday .

At the start of this month , 232 reporters , photographers and editors were in prisons in 27 countries on charges of `` terrorism '' and crimes against the state intended to `` silence critical voices , '' the New-York based group said .

The figure is the highest since the organization , which promotes press freedom , began record-keeping in 1990 through an annual census . Until now , the record was 185 , set in 1996 .

Read more : Press freedoms watchdog slams Turkish government

Turkey holds 49 journalists behind bars , according to the group , the largest total for an individual country . Dozens of Kurdish reporters and editors have been jailed on terrorism-related charges , it said , and several other journalists `` on charges of involvement in anti-government plots . ''

`` Broadly worded anti-terror and penal code statutes have allowed Turkish authorities to conflate the coverage of banned groups and the investigation of sensitive topics with outright terrorism or other anti-state activity , '' the committee said .

Iran came a close second , with 45 jailed journalists , according to the report . Tehran has `` sustained a crackdown that began after the disputed 2009 presidential election , '' it said .

Many of the 32 journalists behind bars in China , the third worst offender , are Tibetans or Uighurs who were imprisoned for covering ethnic unrest that flared up in 2008 , according to the committee . Others are being held for expressing dissident political views , it said

In Eritrea , none of the 28 detained journalists have `` ever been publicly charged with a crime or brought before a court for trial , '' the report said , dubbing the country `` the worst abuser of due process . ''

Amid the civil war raging in Syria , forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have seized at least 15 journalists , according to the committee .

`` None of the detainees have been charged with a crime , and the authorities have been unwilling to account for the detainees ' whereabouts or well-being , '' it said .

On a more positive note , the committee noted that for the first time since 1996 , Myanmar is not on its list of countries jailing journalists .

The Myanmar government of President Thein Sein , whose recent political reforms have been welcomed by the United States and Europe , has released at least 12 journalists over the past year , the report said .

@highlight

A total of 232 reporters , photographers and editors are behind bars , a group says

@highlight

Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists , with 49 detained

@highlight

The next worst offenders are Iran , China , Eritrea and Syria

@highlight

Myanmar is not on the list of countries jailing journalists for the first time since 1996